A man who has been described as the "best motorcycle street racer in the world" will grace the streets of Whanganui later this year.
The world-renowned Cemetery Circuit races, around the closed-off public streets of Whanganui each Boxing Day, will this year feature the rider who has for a number of years been setting alight the equally-famous Isle of Man race circuit, Northern Irishman Michael Dunlop.
The 27-year-old Dunlop is the latest in a long line of exciting, headline-grabbing athletes who have been drawn to the tricky Cemetery Circuit in recent years. Britain's Guy Martin, Liechtenstein rider Horst Saiger and British women's champion Maria Costello are just a few of the other star attractions that Cemetery Circuit organiser Allan "Flea" Willacy has managed to entice to New Zealand in recent years.
The Cemetery Circuit event on December 26 will again be the third and final round of the popular annual Suzuki Series, which kicks off at Bruce McLaren Motorsport Park near Taupo on December 4, then takes riders to Manfeild for round two on December 11, before its traditional Boxing Day finale on the public streets of Whanganui.
The highly-respected Dunlop will also race at Manfeild's round two of the Suzuki Series, although it is the Robert Holden Memorial Trophy, given each years to the Cemetery Circuit feature race winner, that he craves most.